Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Astronaut

When I grow upWhen at last I find I'm a grown upWhen I cannot climb any higherWhat will I beWhen I grow upWhen I've finished school and I have to goWhen I've learnt the things that I've got to knowWhat will I be4,3,2,1, blast off! AstronautWouldn't it be funFlying in the sunAnd on to Jupiter and MarsHeading out to PlutoFlying in my spaceshipGoing anywhere I want to goWhen I grow upWill I want the things that I want todayWill they be the things I'll need on my wayWhat will I needWhen I grow upWhen I've done the things that I tried to doWill I be someone to look up toWhat will I be4,3,2,1, blast off!When I grow up, will my dreams belong to meWhen I grow up, what will I beWill there be hope for meDoes anybody know, which way to goCos I want to know

Every time I hear this song I get goose-bumpy. The thoughts of my boys growing up, as well as thoughts about what have I done since I was in the place where I dreamed of my future, always makes me wonder. Where will they go? What goes God have for them? Will they listen, and follow, or will they run away, as I did for so long? I want to teach them to ask God to give them the plan for their lives, and to not rely on their own wisdom. But yet I send them to the best school (in my mind) to receive the best education, so, presumably, they can “make it on their own” and “do what they want with their lives”. There are so many contradictions in my actions as a parent I’m surprised the boys don’t complain of dizziness.

And in my own life, where am I? Am I someone I would want them to look up to, to follow? When Paul says “look to me and you will see me imitating Christ” – isn’t that what we’re supposed to tell our children? And do they see it? Most of the time I don’t think they do. They can see me love them, see me put my needs before theirs, but what else? Not much, I’m afraid.

There’s so much I want them to learn, and so much of it involves altering my own behavior to teach them how to live. It’s hard, this parenting thing.

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About me

I'm 43, and yes, that is a good age. Attorney, mom and wife: 3 full-time jobs, which makes me jack of all trades, master of none. I like it. Two boys, 13 and 10, otherwise known here as One and Two, just to keep things simple. Husband? He is the inspiration for the title of this blog. He works 14 hour days, to which I can only say: I'm incredibly grateful he doesn't work weekends.

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"Always there has been an adventure just around the corner - and the world is still full of corners!"

--- Roy Chapman Andrews

“Time is a treasure that melts away. It escapes us, slipping through our fingers like water through the mountain rocks. Tomorrow will soon be another yesterday. Our lives are so very short. Yesterday has gone and today is passing by. But what a great deal can be done for the love of God in this short space of time!”

--- Josemaria Escriva

"Do all in your power not to fall, for strong athletes should not fall. But if you do fall, get up again at once and continue the contest. Even if you fall a thousand times ... rise up again each time, and keep on doing this until the day of your death. For it is written, "If a righteous man falls seven times' - that is repeatedly throughout his life - seven times 'shall he rise again.'"